Standardizing the Web

Who We Are
- Ross Olson
- Nick Finck
What are the standards?
- W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) "recommendations"
  - HTML 4.01
  - XHTML 1.0
  - XHTML 1.1
  - XML 1.0
  - CSS 1
  - CSS 2
  - XSL 1.0
  - XSLT 1.0
  - DOM
- ECMA (European Computer Manufacturers Association) "standards"
  - JavaScript/ECMAscript
- ISO (International Organization for Standardization) "standards"
  - ISO 8859-1
Benefits
- XHTML
  - Painless transition
    - Migrating to XML
  - Cleaner, more logical markup
    - Easier to update
    - Easier to hand-off
  - Increased interoperability
    - Porting to other devices
    - Less room for error
    - More stable
  - Greater accessibility
    - Section 508 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998
      codified as Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
    - Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0
  - Longevity
    - Build once, use anywhere
- CSS
  - Painless transition
    - Migrating to XSL and XSLT
  - Simplified syntax
    - Separation of style from content
    - Easier to update and hand-off
  - Greater accessibility
    - Anyone can access the content using any browser
  - Longevity
    - Build once, use anywhere
Validation
Controversy
- RAND/patents
- MSN.com and standards
Resources
- Resources we covered in this panel
  - WaSP EDU FAQ
  - Zeldman's standards lecture
- Other resources about using web standards
- General markup resources and articles
  - HTML resources
Key understandings
- RTFM: know the technology
- Know your audience
- Follow business goals: think scalable
- Write valid markup
- Use standard compliant tools